News  Ninth Edition of the State Building Code

Ninth Edition of the State Building Code

The ninth edition building code was filed with the Secretary of State on Friday, October 6, 2017 and will therefore become first effective on October 20^th.

During their October 10^th meeting, members of the Board of Building Regulations and Standards (BBRS) debated whether or not to move the full force and effect date of the code due to a shortened concurrency period, but decided to hold firm with the January 1, 2018 date. Consequently, building permit applications for projects utilizing eighth edition code provisions will need to be filed on or before December 31, 2017. Applications received on or after January 1, 2018, where the project has been designed to the eighth edition, shall be returned to the applicant. The applicant will either need to revise construction documents to comply with ninth edition standards or seek relief through the Building Code Appeals Board (BCAB).

BBRS members also decided to change the Construction Supervisor License (CSL) exam transition date originally scheduled for October 23^rd. The exam will transition to the ninth edition code beginning January 1^st as well. Exam candidates will be allowed to take either the eighth edition (2009 I-Codes with amendments) or ninth edition (2105 I-Codes with amendments) into the exam site beginning October 23^rd.

As a reminder, the new, ninth edition code is based on modified versions of the following 2015 codes as published by the International Code Council (ICC).

• The International Building Code (IBC);
• International Residential Code (IRC);
• International Existing Building Code (IEBC);
• International Mechanical Code (IMC);
• International Energy Conservation Code (IECC);
• International Swimming Pool and Spa Code (ISPSC); and
• Portions of the International Fire Code (IFC).

Due to statutory obligations, the one exception to this message is that the 2015 IECC went into effect on August 12, 2016 as an amendment to the Eighth Edition.